A global banking institution needs to store customer account information, including transaction history. This data is highly sensitive and requires strict data residency, encryption at rest and in transit, and robust audit capabilities to meet financial industry regulations. The solution must support transactional workloads with ACID properties and scale to millions of accounts. Which Azure data storage solution is most appropriate?
- AAzure Cosmos DB (Core SQL API)
- BAzure Table Storage
- CAzure SQL Database
- DAzure Database for MySQL Flexible Server
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service that provides strong ACID properties, robust security features like TDE and Always Encrypted, and comprehensive auditing. It supports various deployment options for data residency and can scale to meet transactional demands for millions of accounts, making it suitable for sensitive banking data.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Azure Cosmos DB is a NoSQL database. While it offers global distribution and scalability, it might not be the default choice for highly sensitive transactional data requiring strict ACID properties and the full suite of relational database security and auditing features out-of-the-box for banking.
- B. Azure Table Storage is a NoSQL key-value store, lacking ACID transactions and the advanced security and auditing features required for sensitive financial transactional data.
- D. Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server is a good relational option, but Azure SQL Database often has more advanced enterprise-grade security, auditing, and compliance features, especially for financial institutions, and broader tooling integration within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Azure SQL Database for Enterprise
Azure SQL Database is a managed relational database service that provides the full capabilities of SQL Server. It is designed for mission-critical applications requiring high availability, scalability, robust security (encryption, auditing), and ACID transaction compliance, making it ideal for enterprise and regulated industries.
- Fully managed relational database
- ACID transaction compliance
- Advanced security (TDE, Always Encrypted, row-level security)
- Comprehensive auditing and compliance features
- Flexible deployment options (Single DB, Elastic Pool, Managed Instance)
Memory trick: Azure SQL DB for banking, secure and compliant accounts.